Logging is employed within virtually all data networks. “Logging” refers generally to recording network-related and/or application-related information in response to one or more predefined network/application events. For example, when an end-user opens a TCP connection to a server, or unsuccessfully attempts to gain access to network resources (e.g., by attempting to log in to a particular server), this information is typically recorded as an entry within a log file. Similarly, if a variable within an application rises above a specified threshold value, a log entry indicating the value and the date and time that the threshold value was exceeded may be stored within a log file. Logging techniques may be employed to record any specified network/application event. Network administrators may then review the log files to identify security issues and/or troubleshoot network problems.
Logging functionality is provided within the Java™ 2 Standard Edition (“J2E™”) platform and the Java 2 Enterprise Edition “J2EE™” platform. Referring to FIG. 1, in a Java environment, Java applications 101 make logging calls on “logger” objects 110, 112, 114. Each logger object is used to log messages for a specific system or application component. Loggers are normally named using a hierarchical dot-separated namespace. Logger names can be arbitrary strings, but they are typically based on the package name or class name of the logged component (e.g., such as java.net or javax.swing). In addition, it is possible to create “anonymous” loggers that are not stored in the logger namespace. Loggers are organized in a hierarchical namespace in which child loggers 112, 114 may inherit logging properties from their parents 110 in the namespace.
Each logger 110, 112, 114 may have a threshold “Level” associated with it which reflects a minimum defined logging value (e.g., priority level) that the logger cares about. If a logger's level is set to null, then its effective level is inherited from its parent, which may in turn obtain it recursively from its parent, and so on up the tree.
In response to logging calls from applications 101, the logger objects 110, 112, 114 allocate Log Record objects which are passed to handler objects 130 for publication. For example, a first type of handler object may write log records to an output stream, a second type of handler object may write log records to a file (or to a set of rotating log files) and a third handler may write log records to remote TCP ports. Developers requiring specific functionality may develop a handler from scratch or subclass one of the handlers in J2SE.
Both loggers 110, 112, 114 and handlers 130 may use filters 120, 121 to filter out certain designated types of log records. In addition, when publishing a log record externally, a handler may optionally use a formatter 122 to localize and format the message before writing it to a particular destination. For example, J2SE includes a “simple formatter” for writing short “human-readable” summaries of log records and an eXtensible Markup Language (XML) formatter for writing detailed XML-structured information.
“Tracing” is a technique used primarily by software developers to track the execution of program code. For example, when developing an application, developers trace the execution of methods or functions within certain modules to identify problems and/or to determine if the program code may be improved. If a particular method takes an inordinate amount of time to complete, the developer may determine the reasons why and/or change the program code to operate more efficiently.
Developers use trace tools to trace the execution of program code. Trace tools are proprietary application programs which use different techniques to trace the execution flows for an executing program. One technique, referred to as event-based profiling, tracks particular sequences of instructions by recording application-generated events as they occur. By way of example, a trace tool may record each entry into, and each exit from, a module, subroutine, function, method, or system component within a trace file (e.g., a time-stamped entry may be recorded within the trace file for each such event). Trace events may also be sent to a console or other output destination.
Thus, tracing and logging techniques rely on similar event-based triggers, employ similar messaging techniques and record log/trace events to similar output destinations (e.g., trace/log files, consoles, . . . , etc.) in a substantially similar manner. As such, it would be beneficial to develop an integrated application programming interface which takes advantage of the similarities of tracing and logging operations, and of the synergistic effects of handling both, while not neglecting the differences.